Two policemen and two border guards have been sacked for their alleged involvement in the torture and humiliation of two Albanian detainees in a central Athens police station in June 2006.

A police disciplinary council found the two officers guilty of torturing the detainees and the other two of failing to intervene and stop the abuse.

The case came to light last summer when a video of the abuse circulated on the Internet. The video was recorded on the cell phone of one of the implicated officers at the Omonia precinct. It shows one of the policemen, in plainclothes, forcing the two detainees to hit each other. The second policeman is believed to have recorded the video on his phone and the other two to have participated in the abuse.

The four officers, who have a right to appeal the council’s decision, also face a criminal trial.